Interesting chapter. Well, I suppose it was about time Ishida and Chad get some action. I'm not sure that there is all that much to talk about in this chapter, since there was so much action, but I'll try my best. Hope you enjoy, even if my comments are shorter than usual this time. This time I'm using Binktopia's images, since I prefer their cleans the most. However, I must say, in their scanlation, while the font is improved over last week, the text IS a little bit on the small-ish side. Otherwise, a bang-up job, guys.

Speaking of scanlation groups, I mentioned M7 last week being unusually weaker in their cleanings than usual. Well, looks like only ONE guy is cleaning for them - and he's got two jobs and school! Yowza. No wonder the chapter wasn't HQ. If anybody is interested in helping them out, they're definitely looking for more people at Bleach7.com. (http://www.bleach7.com/) They'd probably appreciate it. Of course, Binktopia, Ju-Ni, Bleachsoul, and Jinchuuriki all could use more people too, so check with whatever group you want to support. Let's try our best to get ourselves some more nice-looking Bleach chapters, eh!

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/2308/01jp7.jpg
Take a good look; those three don't run away very often.

1. Quick Thinking. Even though Chad, Ishida, and Ichigo all would have probably rather fought than run away, I wouldn't blame them for thinking that they didn't want to tangle with THAT creepy monster... Looked like it was crawling along the ceiling at first, and I had grisly images of some kind of spider-like beast entering my mind. Of course, Ichigo, always ready for a battle, still wanted to stand and fight regardless, but I have to credit Ishida for thinking rationally. Even if the retreat did make the upcoming fight even tougher in the end, I'd still prefer to go against two Arrancar instead of having to worry about the ceiling falling on my head.

Funny, though. I wasn't expecting to see these three guys - each one having significantly improved their abilities since the Rescue Rukia arc - running away from a Hollow like that. Ishida's expression especially looked like he was actually scared. Maybe he just didn't like the monster's fashion sense.

(Yes, I know he was probably just annoyed that he was having to drag Ichigo by the neck. I'm just kidding.)

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/4584/02ak8.jpg
I don't blame Ishida for being exasperated here...

2. More Bickering...? Okay, one more thing before we move on. It's obvious that Ishida and Ichigo don't know how to speak to each other without arguing, which they do as fiercely as any other two rivals. Last week, I did mention that it was refreshing to see that the relationship between Ishida and Ichigo hadn't changed in this respect. I still feel that way - the comedy that comes out of their conversations are pretty much enjoyable for the most part.

HOWEVER - Ichigo just looks like an idiot here. He should have realized that the absence of windows meant that they were underground. He's NOT that dense, like his father - he did make good grades in high school! So, unfortunately for once, I think Tite Kubo is overdoing it here. It's almost as if Ichigo was arguing with Ishida just because he didn't want to agree with him.

Well, I can see him doing that, but he also ends up looking like a moron. In that respect, I think Tite Kubo's having a little too much fun with their dialogue and forgetting that he's making his protagonist look pretty bad in the process. I'd like a little more intelligent debate between the two.

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7485/032kx1.jpg
You rang?

3. So Much for "Minimal Interference!" Even though Ishida ended up dragging them all into a trap, I didn't think much about it being a fatal mistake. Now that they're in a bigger chamber, they have far more room to maneuver around while fighting.

Hmm. Well, the big guy's a new character, but the "bird-man," Iceringer, appeared before in the series. He was the Arrancar that was fixing up the Grand Fisher at the end of volume 3 (http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/8638/bleach030917hd5.png). Another indication that Tite Kubo does plan way ahead of time in his writing. Pretty cool...!

I think some people actually had thought that was Grimmjow, though. Guess not.

http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/6318/04io2.jpg
Well hello there!

4. Anti-Gravity's Fun. Cover commenting time. Well, not much to say. This week we got one of Ishida and Chad standing alongside each other, except Chad's upside-down here.

Definitely a retro, 70's type of cover. No, I don't know much about music, being deaf, but I could tell here, for once, that Tite Kubo was likely inspired by some sort of album cover art. The title as well - but also for a change, it's pretty understandable as Chad and Ishida were definitely rarin' to take the stage instead of their orange-haired friend for a change.

Tite Kubo is one of very few manga artists I've seen who titles his chapters in English, too. I wonder if he finds the English alphabet as equally fascinating as we do Japanese kanji at times.

Something else I found funny here too. Note that in this perspective shot, one of Chad's legs are about as big as Ishida's whole body. Pretty good way to show the contrast between the two obviously different guys.

http://img315.imageshack.us/img315/7067/05gb5.jpg
Oops, my bad!

5. Get Outta the Way, Buddy. Gotta admit I don't blame Chad for being a little... rough with Ichigo here. Even though he's usually such a gentle giant, he was pretty crushed that he couldn't be able to help his closest friend (http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/5797/bleachch20103gi6.png) out against D-Roy. Wasn't surprised when Chad admitted to Ishida that he had been wanting to give Ichigo an elbow to the head for quite some time now.

Yup, step back, Ichigo. Time for you to find out that your friends aren't ALL that helpless. I can understand why Tite Kubo decided to do a minor battle at this point, so that Ichigo can witness that firsthand and feel a little more confident once they get closer to the really dangerous guys.

You know something I just realized, though? We have three guys invading Las Noches: Ichigo, Ishida, and Chad. We have three Soul Society traitors: Aizen, Gin, and Tousen. I can't help but wonder if we're headed for some sort of three-way battle with all these guys.

Of course, where would Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, and Yammy factor in...? Maybe we'll be seeing these three first. And then there's Wonderwice...

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/6223/06mr7.jpg
If the shoe fits...

6. Dumb n' Dumber. I actually found this part to be the most interesting one in the chapter. I hadn't thought much about how exactly the Hollows became Arrancars, and why they all seemed to take on variable bodies. Of course, we already know that some will appear grotesque, whereas others will, as Ishida said, appear more human.

Well, got our answer here. If the human form of an Arrancar is directly proportional to their level of intellect, then no wonder the Grand Fisher was still such a monster, 'cause he sure was one dumb brute.

http://img336.imageshack.us/img336/9690/062kt7.jpg
Can dish it out, but can't take it, eh?

And no, I don't think Iceringer had his form out of choice. Why? Because I'd think it would be harder to gain a spot on Aizen's Espada if you're an incomplete Arrancar. I don't think Iceringer really wanted to stay a grunt.

Plus, looked like Ishida's words hit the mark in his case, too. If Iceringer was so sensitive to his words, then it was probably true in his case, too. Iceringer's just lying and trying to cover it up. Poor dude. Must've been picked on by all the other Arrancar at some point. XD

http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/3036/07ev2.jpg
Them's two very ticked off Arrancar...

7. Choose Your Poison... Who'd you want to fight? A small, bird-headed guy, whose arms are actually thin tendrils with long, flowing, whip-like fingers that can fry your bones. And another dude that can manipulate spirit particules under his massive fist to create an even greater impact upon the fragile top of your skull. Gee, tough choice.

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4371/08ze1.jpg
Do a pirouette, Chad!

8. Switching Places. Yeah, good for Ishida to recognize that they each would have been better off fighting against the other opponent. I suppose even Iceringer recognized it too, knowing that Chad didn't have the necessary speed to keep up with him.

But yeah, in power vs power situations, Chad's the ideal choice, and in dexterity vs dexterity contests, who better than the best archer in the series to take that one?

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/9559/09nc1.jpg
There goes his jaw.

9. Pow! To the Moon! Always love it when Chad delivers one of these eye-watering, bone-mashing punches right to the cheek. Haven't seen that in quite a while, so it was pretty fun to see him do it again here. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that, tho.

Bye-bye, Demoura! Nice knowin' ya!

http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/5773/finyt3.jpg
That can't be good for Iceringer.

10. Here Comes Ishida... Looks like we'll be getting to see what Ishida's bow looks like already. I was somewhat expecting it to be much later and against somebody much stronger, but I suppose both Chad and Ishida needed their own "pwning" moments just to warm up. Too bad, though, I kinda liked Iceringer...

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars. Action-packed, but not much drama. You knew Chad and Ishida were going to wipe the floor with these guys.

Predictions: Will see Ishida do a smackdown on Iceringer. After that, not sure. Possibly another look at Orihime while the three guys continue their search.

I'm glad Ishida and Chad got a chance to shine finally. However I cant say im totally impressed with their disply here. Ever since the group got back from Soul Society Chad and Ishida seemed to be falling further and further behind. I like to call it the Krillen(from DBZ) syndrome :)

I totally Agree with you on Tite Kubo. Ichigo's lack of awareness seems out of charecter. Thats one thing i always loved about him that he wasn't a complete idiot but insanly strong like most protaganists.

All in all I'm glad to see Chad and Ishida but I'm gonna need more of than a warm-up fight and some cool poses to make me believe in them again

Maajinn - All I care about is finally seeing Ulquiorra in action

Gold Knight

September 12, 2006, 11:25 PM

Also, I'd like to thank Pocketmofo for his translation as well - they've been a lifesaver lately because of Djudge's absence.

I'm glad Ishida and Chad got a chance to shine finally. However I cant say im totally impressed with their disply here. Ever since the group got back from Soul Society Chad and Ishida seemed to be falling further and further behind. I like to call it the Krillen(from DBZ) syndrome :)

Yeah, Ichigo's rise to power has been pretty furious, so the others were left completely behind. Remember when at the end of the Save Rukia arc, Ichigo and Renji were the only ones challenging Aizen at all, and all the others could do was just hope and shudder down at the base of the hill? A pretty good analogy of the power difference between Ichigo and his friends at that time...

I totally Agree with you on Tite Kubo. Ichigo's lack of awareness seems out of charecter. Thats one thing i always loved about him that he wasn't a complete idiot but insanly strong like most protaganists.

Yeah. He's acting a little more like his dad lately. Could be intentional on Kubo's part, though, just to show how similar Ishida and Ichigo are to their fathers.

All in all I'm glad to see Chad and Ishida but I'm gonna need more of than a warm-up fight and some cool poses to make me believe in them again

Yeah, I hope to see them do well against some tougher opponents too soon. I think Tite Kubo won't disappoint us there though. Ichigo's not going to be able to get to Aizen without going through some guys, and Ishida and Chad will have to take care of some of them too just to help Ichigo stay fresh.

Maajinn - All I care about is finally seeing Ulquiorra in action

Heh - he has some hype to live up to...

kiddo7

September 13, 2006, 01:24 AM

enjoyed reading, will comment tomorow.

venicia777

September 13, 2006, 01:24 AM

1: i tell you- ishida loves these moments. i think these are the occasions when ichigo has reason to fight with him- and the fighting occurs all the time too. ishida is strong and at the same time seemingly more intelligent, hates shinigamis too- why not pick a fight with ichigo :p by showing some strengths ichigo lacks. at least it means he is trying both to be friendly as well as keeping the quincy pride intact

2) it surely reminded me of naruto. Ichigo dipped quite low in the mental faculty business. i just opened my mouth wide when he wanted to fight after been told they were in an enclosed underground tunnel.

kubo probably overdid it for a reason.

3,6) yeah- somebody reminded me of iceringer at bleach7- you have a pretty good memory of bleach characters. Interesting. i totally had forgotten about him.

Although i thought iceringer might have been at least moderately intellingent if he had some basics of medicine (or whatever he was doing) to work on grandfisher after his injury. In real life he probably was picked on at school for not been that intelligent :p. anyways, his intelligence showed when he deciphered ishida/chad were up to something.

4) that frontpage is so self explanatory. the chapter was the grandstage for Ishida and Chad. And ....

5) what a way for chad to demonstrate it. I was really amazed and quite proud of chad's new brazen attitude. the gentle giant gave ichigo a nice elbow to the head. i looked at the panel for quite a while before i could believe it. Chad- giving ichigo an elbow- incredible. It was their stage for sure.

ishida showing ichigo that he was dumb and chad shoving him away- it was really their stage.

7-10) i really thought after training with a captain-level strength of renji chad will probably be faster- or is it that ishida is just faster than he is?
the teamwork was really something :oh is it indicative of the trio probably needing to team up in the later parts of this arc? because this intrusion into LN is something i really dont understand- but if kubo did it in SS he could do it here. i hope it is not the same results by the way.

Honestly though,this second save the damsel in distress arc although different from the rukia SS arc- has left me less interested in bleach.

i guess we will see ishida and chad in full strength or transformation later. and ishida's bow next chapter. will chad be showing us his or is it the same as what we have already seen- thats what i am asking!!!

Nice comments - GK

Luckas

September 13, 2006, 05:49 AM

Geat comments as always Gold Knight.

2) Maybe we should factorize Ichigo distress because he isn't as strong as he would be. Even if he regained control of his spiritual world he can maintain his hollow form for only 10 seconds and Grimjow kicked his ass again without an arm and releasing. So it seems there is a huge gap in power and this save arc seems to me wrong.

6) That could imply that Ulquiorra was a VastoLord before hibridization, changing our ideas about the scale of power. Maybe also Grimgow could be a VastoLorde. I don't know.

kiddo7

September 13, 2006, 12:21 PM

Well, looks like it is time for me to drop some comments.
I must say that i did very much enjoy this chapter and the fact that Ichigo did nothing while chad and ishida took care of "business".
First off, I did not really find it OOC for ichigo to act stupid When he is about to fight. or one thing he was just recently engaged in a hot headed argument with Ishida and second Ichigo was never known to follow any highly logical thought process when heading into a fight. especially when he does not have to worrie about innocent people getting tangled up in the fight. Right now all he wants to do is crack some skulls and, as we have witnessed, he still thinks that he is the only one who can stand up to the bad guys, yeah that's a FALSE!

Seriously though, Sometimes I wonder if you are human at all. I mean it took me a while to find and Identify Iceringer in the pages at the end of Volume 3, even after I knew what I was looking for. How in the world did you remember and recognize him after so long a time? especially considering that he was only present in one panel and that he was partially covered up and that he did look a little different back then. Do you actually study the entire manga and have it memorized? You pick up on all the most insignificant details, sometimes I think that you are actually the one who is telling the mangaka where to go with the story. That would explain why nothing ever escapes your watchfull eyes.

Anyway back to our heros, I really hope that after this ichigo figures out that they are at least as powerfull as he is and that theuy are much better in coming up with battle strategies. After that what I hope to see is the three of them working together as a team. YOu know the whole "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts theory" thing. I would really like to see what the three of them can come up with. I would kind of envision them like a special opps strike force. Also I expect them to flee from LN barely escapeing qwith their lives. I would not even be surprised if they found some allies But it would just go against all logic if they went in kicked everyones asses and then just casually walked out. This ought to turn out like the situation in the movie black hwk down, only Imagine they only sent three people in to do the rescue mission. Can't wait to see the rest!

My coments this time are not to cohesive either but now it is because of excitement.

Gold Knight

September 13, 2006, 02:25 PM

1: i tell you- ishida loves these moments. i think these are the occasions when ichigo has reason to fight with him- and the fighting occurs all the time too. ishida is strong and at the same time seemingly more intelligent, hates shinigamis too- why not pick a fight with ichigo :p by showing some strengths ichigo lacks. at least it means he is trying both to be friendly as well as keeping the quincy pride intact

I still think he's frustrated, but I suppose it does make it easier for him to be able to stomach working with Ichigo, even though he is halfway a Shinigami, because Ichigo can be so clueless at times. Good insight.

2) it surely reminded me of naruto. Ichigo dipped quite low in the mental faculty business. i just opened my mouth wide when he wanted to fight after been told they were in an enclosed underground tunnel.

kubo probably overdid it for a reason.

Probably to make Ichigo resemble his father a bit, too.

3,6) yeah- somebody reminded me of iceringer at bleach7- you have a pretty good memory of bleach characters. Interesting. i totally had forgotten about him.

Although i thought iceringer might have been at least moderately intellingent if he had some basics of medicine (or whatever he was doing) to work on grandfisher after his injury. In real life he probably was picked on at school for not been that intelligent :p. anyways, his intelligence showed when he deciphered ishida/chad were up to something.

True. But being a "doctor" doesn't always mean he's that sharp - I wish that was true, though!

4) that frontpage is so self explanatory. the chapter was the grandstage for Ishida and Chad. And ....

Yeah, it was.

5) what a way for chad to demonstrate it. I was really amazed and quite proud of chad's new brazen attitude. the gentle giant gave ichigo a nice elbow to the head. i looked at the panel for quite a while before i could believe it. Chad- giving ichigo an elbow- incredible. It was their stage for sure.

ishida showing ichigo that he was dumb and chad shoving him away- it was really their stage.

Yeah! I was even kinda glad Chad was a little rough with him, too. Haha.

7-10) i really thought after training with a captain-level strength of renji chad will probably be faster- or is it that ishida is just faster than he is?
the teamwork was really something :oh is it indicative of the trio probably needing to team up in the later parts of this arc? because this intrusion into LN is something i really dont understand- but if kubo did it in SS he could do it here. i hope it is not the same results by the way.

Honestly though,this second save the damsel in distress arc although different from the rukia SS arc- has left me less interested in bleach.

I wish it wasn't a save the damsel in distress arc too, but what keeps me reading is the fact that I don't think anybody will save Orihime this time - she will save herself first. We'll see.

i guess we will see ishida and chad in full strength or transformation later. and ishida's bow next chapter. will chad be showing us his or is it the same as what we have already seen- thats what i am asking!!!

I definitely think Chad's arm will exhibit something different for us.

Nice comments - GK

Thanks for reading! :)

Geat comments as always Gold Knight.

2) Maybe we should factorize Ichigo distress because he isn't as strong as he would be. Even if he regained control of his spiritual world he can maintain his hollow form for only 10 seconds and Grimjow kicked his ass again without an arm and releasing. So it seems there is a huge gap in power and this save arc seems to me wrong.

It does seem too fast. Something tells me Ichigo may have gotten himself into an unwinnable situation again.

6) That could imply that Ulquiorra was a VastoLord before hibridization, changing our ideas about the scale of power. Maybe also Grimgow could be a VastoLorde. I don't know.

Maybe!

Well, looks like it is time for me to drop some comments.
I must say that i did very much enjoy this chapter and the fact that Ichigo did nothing while chad and ishida took care of "business".
First off, I did not really find it OOC for ichigo to act stupid When he is about to fight. or one thing he was just recently engaged in a hot headed argument with Ishida and second Ichigo was never known to follow any highly logical thought process when heading into a fight. especially when he does not have to worrie about innocent people getting tangled up in the fight. Right now all he wants to do is crack some skulls and, as we have witnessed, he still thinks that he is the only one who can stand up to the bad guys, yeah that's a FALSE!

Actually, wasn't it that he wanted to get Orihime out of there as soon as possible. How can he do that with the ceiling on top of him? I think Ichigo needs to concentrate on getting thru quickly instead of fighting every monster he sees...

Seriously though, Sometimes I wonder if you are human at all. I mean it took me a while to find and Identify Iceringer in the pages at the end of Volume 3, even after I knew what I was looking for. How in the world did you remember and recognize him after so long a time? especially considering that he was only present in one panel and that he was partially covered up and that he did look a little different back then. Do you actually study the entire manga and have it memorized? You pick up on all the most insignificant details, sometimes I think that you are actually the one who is telling the mangaka where to go with the story. That would explain why nothing ever escapes your watchfull eyes.

XD No... because that page also had the first appearance of D-Roy and I had become aware of it through a friend, that's why I remembered the other guy that was working on the Grand Fisher. Actually, I think I also recalled people speculating about whether he was Grimmjow prior to becoming an Arrancar or not. That was quite a while ago, but I had been curious too.

Anyway back to our heros, I really hope that after this ichigo figures out that they are at least as powerfull as he is and that theuy are much better in coming up with battle strategies. After that what I hope to see is the three of them working together as a team. YOu know the whole "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts theory" thing. I would really like to see what the three of them can come up with. I would kind of envision them like a special opps strike force. Also I expect them to flee from LN barely escapeing qwith their lives. I would not even be surprised if they found some allies But it would just go against all logic if they went in kicked everyones asses and then just casually walked out. This ought to turn out like the situation in the movie black hwk down, only Imagine they only sent three people in to do the rescue mission. Can't wait to see the rest!

My coments this time are not to cohesive either but now it is because of excitement.

I'd love to see more teamwork instead of one on one fights in this arc. Of course the problem is the Arrancar will probably team up as well, so...